BRIDGEWATER — A new resource for high quality branding, website development and SEO, content development, and social media has been created through a collaboration of four business women.

Launched in October, Marketing Unzipped is made up of local entrepreneurs . . . → Read More: Business Women Form New Marketing Collaboration]]> Thanks to the South Coast Business Bulletin for this great article.

BRIDGEWATER — A new resource for high quality branding, website development and SEO, content development, and social media has been created through a collaboration of four business women.

Launched in October, Marketing Unzipped is made up of local entrepreneurs and consultants: Monica Bentley of Bridgewater, Cathy Copeland of Sharon, Melody Howard Ritt of Sharon, and Jen Vondenbrink of Foxboro. The group provides start-ups and existing businesses with educational and consulting services designed to jumpstart their marketing success.

Marketing Unzipped began offering free educational seminars for business owners and in-house marketers in November. It’s next seminar is scheduled for Dec. 5 from 8-9:30 a.m. at Eastern Bank, 742 County St., Taunton. Visit www.marketingunzipped.com for more information and online registration.

Read the full article here…

Jen Vondenbrink, owner of Life Simplified in Foxborough, MA and a director at the Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce based in Mansfield, MA is the featured speaker for the Women’s Link held at Showcase Live at Patriots Place, Foxborough, MA.

Read the full Mansfield Patch.com Article…

Business coach and social media strategist Jen Vondenbrink provided tips on how to avoid the typical connect-and-forget pattern at the Mansfield Public Library, Mansfield MA.

Read the Sun Chronicle article…

Homemade Iron Chefs

My family has a crazy vacation tradition, Iron Chef night with a twist.

My sister and I each pair up with one of my nephews. They come up with a meal idea based around something they’ll eat rather than a secret ingredient. We’re the sous chefs/consultants. . . . → Read More: Trust Your Brillance]]>

photo credit: artchild via flickr

Homemade Iron Chefs

My family has a crazy vacation tradition, Iron Chef night with a twist.

My sister and I each pair up with one of my nephews.  They come up with a meal idea based around something they’ll eat rather than a secret ingredient.  We’re the sous chefs/consultants.  We can’t alter the ideas.  Instead we suggest things to  make them work better.

The first year boys were excited and nervous.  They’d ask, “What if this doesn’t work?  What if it tastes gross?  Why don’t we do something easier?’

We encourage the boys to trust their ideas, to trust their brilliance.

Your Brilliance Is Alive

How often do you trust your own brilliance?

At the beginning you may have questions like my nephews’.  Do those stop you?  It’s normal to have doubts, but those doubts hold you back from truly expressing yourself in something amazing.

Mark Zuckerberg didn’t stop inventing new communication software after one try.  It’s a good thing Steve Jobs didn’t ignore his fascination with computer hardware.  George Lucas didn’t settle for average special effects in making Star Wars, either.

Their success was simple.  They had an idea.  They trusted their brilliance.  Then they took action.

How To Begin Trusting Your Brilliance (and quiet the inner critic)

1. Choose a simple problem.  It could be as simple as what to have for dinner.
2. Set aside quiet time.  It doesn’t have to be hours of meditation.  Take a 10 minute walk, turn off the radio in the car, or take a quiet bath.
3. After the first few minutes, start to think about the problem.  The ask, “what are new ways to look at the situation?”  Don’t ask for the solution.  (That’s the inner critic looking for an answer.)
4. Notice what comes up.  Do you get the notion to call someone? Does a picture of something appear?  Do you feel excited?

Trust what pops into your brain.  That’s your inner brilliance.  As soon as your quiet time is over, your inner critic may start to judge your idea.  STOP the conversation.  Then go back to thinking about your idea.

When the boys first present their ideas to us during Iron Chef, our natural inner critics want to say, “you really don’t want make that.”  Or even, “Yuck!”  Instead of saying what we’re thinking, we focus on how we can help their ideas come to life.

This is another great tip you can use when your inner critic pipes up.  Instead of saying, “this won’t work” change the focus to, “how can I make this work.”

The steps on what to do next will become clearer the more you focus on your idea.  Take them.

Iron Chef

We’ve had amazing meals created by my nephew’s brilliance.  Every one of them was a winner.  Now each year instead of doubting their ideas, they can’t wait to get started.  They’ve learned to trust their brilliance.

I can only imagine what you can do in your life, business, family when you trust yours.

What has been the strangest idea you’ve come up with that you followed?  How did it turn out?

Now they’ve added two more features for your Facebook Business Page that you’ll find very exciting.

Scheduling Posts

As . . . → Read More: Yippee You Can Schedule In Facebook (and other fun stuff)]]> This has been a big week of small changes on Facebook.  Earlier this week we talkedabout the addition of the Promote  button and the re-addition of the Insights numbers on each post showing real time statistics.

Now they’ve added two more features for your Facebook Business Page that you’ll find very exciting.

Scheduling Posts

As of this week you can now schedule your posts right in Facebook!  It’s a time saver for sure, although if you have multiple pages your administrating, you still may find third party applications a bit easier.

To schedule a post from Facebook follow these directions:

• Go to your Facebook Business Page status update section.
• Click on the clock icon on the left hand side.
• It will ask you for the year, then month, then day, hour and minute.
• Just type your post and click the “Schedule” button.

To look at your schedule posts, you can go to your Activity Log.  Neat huh!  I tested out on Thursday and works like a charm.

Giving Your Admin Roles

As a social media consultant for some of my clients, I always felt uncomfortable given admin rights to a page because I could do anything.

Now you can select the admin roles if you have multiple Admins.  Here are the selections:

• Manager
• Content Creator
• Moderator
• Advertiser
• Insights Analyst

Here’s a helpful graph from Facebook that describes what each role can do.

Take a minute and get familiar with these new changes.  They definitely can help your productivity.

This is great information because now you can more easily track in real time when people are viewing . . . → Read More: What’s New On Facebook This Morning]]> Facebook has just re-added reach numbers to your posts.  They offered this information in the past, but it was always delayed.  Today I noticed as soon as I entered a post, I started gathering data.

This is great information because now you can more easily track in real time when people are viewing your posts.  You can also see over time the average of people viewing your posts.

The other addition is the new Promote button.

If you haven’t noticed, not all your posts are given the same weight by Facebook.  What this means is not all posts show up in people’s New’s Feeds.  Some of it may have to do with third party applications, how often you post, how often your fan interacts.  I don’t know the exact formula, but personally I notice changes in my News Feeds where posts appear then disappear.

The promote button allows you to pay a nominal fee to make sure your posts appear in your fans News Feeds.  I’m not sure how I feel about this, but I can see the practical application for special events, etc.

Take a look at these new features and tell me what you think.

A few years ago I was talking to a truly Inspired Entrepreneur.

I’d just toured his facility. We were standing outside talking about business. He pointed the the neighborhood across the street. “These are all my future customers,” he said. ” I just need to figure out how to . . . → Read More: Through The Eyes of An Inspired Entrepreneur]]>

photo credit: heatedground via flickr

A few years ago I was talking to a truly Inspired Entrepreneur.

I’d just toured his facility.  We were standing outside talking about business.  He pointed the the neighborhood across the street.   “These are all my future customers,” he said.  ” I just need to figure out how to get invited for dinner.”

Viewing the world through the eyes of an Inspired Entrepreneur makes you think differently.  Nothing’s impossible for them.  Obstacle is a chance to move forward in a different direction, not give up.

Their glasses aren’t always rosy, but they sure put 3-D glasses to shame.

Entrepreneurs are like artists. They bring something to life that never existed before.

Like some artists there are entrepreneurs who dabble in business never following through on their ideas because they’re afraid to fail. They may even go to work for another entrepreneur, yet their ideas are never fully . . . → Read More: What is an Inspired Entrepreneur?]]>

photo credit: katsrcool via flickr

Entrepreneurs are like artists.   They bring something to life that never existed before.

Like some artists there are entrepreneurs who dabble in business never following through on their ideas because they’re afraid to fail.  They may even go to work for another entrepreneur, yet their ideas are never fully realized.

Entrepreneurs become Inspired Entrepreneurs when their passion becomes infectious.

An Inspired Entrepreneur thinks beyond the balance sheet discovering new solutions to old problems.  They use both sides of their brain tapping into more potential than the average entrepreneur.  This allows them to see things differently, do things differently and create things differently.  They aren’t smarter than everyone else, they have less fear.

All entrepreneurs can become Inspired Entrepreneurs.  It just takes letting go of the ordinary.

Who’s Your Mentor?

I asked a client that the other week. They looked at me funny.

“Our business is doing great. Why do I need a mentor?” they asked.

I found it strange they didn’t think they needed a mentor. We had an interesting conversation that I’m privileged to . . . → Read More: The Importance of Small Business Mentors]]>

photo credit: calsidyrose via flickr

Who’s Your Mentor?

I asked a client that the other week.  They looked at me funny.

“Our business is doing great.  Why do I need a mentor?” they asked.

I found it strange they didn’t think they needed a mentor.  We had an interesting conversation that I’m privileged to share here with their consent.

We talked about what a mentor was.  In their eyes it was someone older to answer questions.  They confessed in their corporate job, they were assigned mentors with dismal results. Their previous mentors talked more about themselves than their mentees.

I asked them what they thought the difference between a mentor and a coach was.  This stumped them.  They thought they were the same thing.

Ah-Ha Moment.

The difference had always been clear to me, but talking to my client I learned how easily these two roles can be confused.

A coach is a person focused on performance development of an individual.  There is usually a set goal and agenda for the meetings.  Think of a sports coach.  They work to enhance the performance of the individual to win the game.

The #1 benefit of working with a coach is increased performance.  There is a measurable difference between when you start with a coach and when you end.  The difference could be reflected in increased sales, productivity, organization or newly learned skills.

A mentor is a guide, usually more experienced who is focused on the entire individual not just on one area.  A mentor provides broader insights, suggestions and advice to their protege.  Think of a sports legend taking a rookie “under their wing.”

The #1 benefit of having a mentor is their experience.  They are your  guide, compass, and trouble shooter.  A mentoring relationship is usually a longer term relationship that can span entire professional careers

They Are Both Important.

Utilizing coaches and mentors for your professional development are both important.  Although it’s tempting to try and do it alone, you get much farther with less stress by tapping into the resources around you.

Can you think of a couple areas where you could benefit from a coach or a mentor?  I know I can.

Because of the isolation small business owners can experience, it’s even more important for you to seek out a mentor.

The Keys to Effective Coaching and Mentoring Relationships

In order for either relationship to be effective, you need to be willing to learn, able to accept feedback and most important share what’s not working.

Many of you many find being vulnerable like this intimidating.  I’m not going to lie, it can be.  Pouring out your struggles to another is admitting you can’t do it alone.  Hiding these facts, not asking the questions, or not sharing your true obstacles only hurt you.

I Admit…

In my career I’ve had some fabulous coaches and mentors.  They have shaped the way I do business today.

But I’m also always on the lookout for my next teachers.  When I don’t know how to do something or want to improve an area, I look for a coach.  As I grow, I also look for new mentors.  Those people who have done it before me and can help me along the path.

Something special for you.

As many of you know I already coach and teach small business owners, but starting in June I’m offering two mentoring slots for a minimum of 6 months.

This opportunity to work with me as your mentor is a free offer.  It will be a formal arrangement with an informal feel.  What that means is there will be some guidelines to our meetings, but you get to drive the format.

To be considered for this opportunity, all you need to do is submit the 2012 Life Simplified Mentoring Program Application including why you think I would be a good mentor for you.  The essays must be emailed to me no later than midnight eastern standard time on June 1st.  Winners will be contacted on June 4th via email.

For more information, check out the Life Simplified Website.